


Inked

by TheGrimLlama



Series: supercorp trash team compilation [2]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-28 11:26:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10098455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGrimLlama/pseuds/TheGrimLlama
Summary: The gang find out about Lena's tattoo.





	

Lena was eighteen when it happened.  Lex had become a completely different person, their mother was siding with her  _ real _ child and Lena was about to leave for her second year at Harvard.  Honestly, she’d been wracking her brain trying to one up her most recent attempt to piss off her family, but honestly, how on earth was she supposed to beat the illicit affair she'd had with the daughter of one of Wayne Enterprises board members.  She chuckled as she remembered the fury on her mother's face when the media got hold of that little indiscretion.

 

Lena knew that her next move hadn't been completely successful, neither her mother, nor Lex ever found out about it, which was mildly disappointing.  But the result still put a smile on her face, even ten years later.  

 

She had been out on the town with a group of her friends from college, of course Lena had needed a lot of liquid courage in the light of Lex's most recent attack on Superman.  Jess, who had stuck by her through thick and thin, since they met in an accounting lecture at Harvard had dragged her out, citing that Lena  _ needed  _ to do more than just wallow in her studies.  And that was how Lena found herself dragging Jess into a tattoo parlour at 2am after an undetermined amount of whiskey.  

 

Jess had tried to talk her out of it, hell she still occasionally gave Lena a ribbing about that night.  But Lena was headstrong.  She wanted a permanent reminder that she would not fall down Lex’s rabbit hole.  So she slapped down $200 and asked the tattooist to ink her then and there.  

 

She never hid it.  It just wasn't in an area that was usually socially acceptable, especially in a work situation.  

So when Maggie Sawyer asked during Game Night, if she had any tattoos, Lena had laughed.  

 

She knew that Kara's sister worked closely with Supergirl, and in turn so did Maggie, herself.  There was also the issue of Kara's secretive friendship with the girl of steel.

Lena took a breath and got her giggles under control, “I'm trusting all of you with this knowledge.”

Kara, in true Kara fashion quickly assured Lena that she didn't have to answer if she was uncomfortable.  

 “It’s fine, Kara.  Really.  To be completely honest, at first, it was a bit of a rebellion on my part, just after Lex’s third strike at Superman.”

 

The silence in the room was deafening, all eyes turned to James who finished his beer and went to the fridge for another.  Kara gave her a smile and a nudge, egging her on. Lena held off until James was seated, and nodded at her to continue.  She noticed Kara fidgeting with her glasses out of the corner of her eye, so she took as much care with the retelling as she could.  Finally, she got the the part where the tattooist was stenciling the design on and she stood up, unbuttoning her jeans.

 

 “Whoa Luthor… my girlfriend might have a heart attack,” Maggie laughed.  Alex broke the breadstick she was chewing on across Maggie's head, quickly replacing the breadstick with her scotch glass as Lena flipped off Maggie and tugged on her zipper.  She bared her hip, eyes sweeping over Kara's friends, while waiting for the usual chuckle that her ink inspired. 

 

Lena wasn't entirely prepared for what happened next.  The next few seconds seemed to slow to a crawl.  Maggie laughing raucously beside a stunned Alex, whose scotch glass was now rolling across the hardwood.  James’s eyes were glued to her in confusion as he dabbed at his now wet button down, courtesy of Winn's inability to keep his vodka and soda from spraying out of his mouth. 

Kara's reaction was the most interesting of the five.  She was silent at first, staring with such intensity that Lena thought she might actually burn a hole through Lena. 

 

Honestly, it was the strangest reaction she'd seen since Veronica Sinclair made her wear a garter belt to cover it, the one and only time Lena had been there.

 

Maggie was still laughing, wiping tears from her eyes as she lightly tapped Alex's arm repeatedly.  

Lena quickly buttoned her jeans and took her seat back as Alex reached across and grabbed hold of Kara's hand. 

 

 “And now?”

 

Lena looked up at Kara, her usually expressive face was guarded and unreadable, “And now what…?”

 

Alex shot Maggie a glare and cleared her throat, “Alright boys, Maggie's gonna drive us all home!”

 

There were a few mumbled goodbyes and some shuffling around the apartment before the door clicked shut leaving Lena and Kara side by side in the living room.

 

Kara looked up again, that incendiary expression fixed in place.  “You said  _ at first.  At first  _ it was just way to rebel.   What does it mean to you now?”

_ Oh.  _  Lena took a breath, this was not a discussion that she expected to have with Kara Danvers tonight.  

 “Honestly, Kara, it means a lot more to me now than what it ever meant when it was just the  _ superman symbol… _ ”  Kara huffed, but silenced with a glance from Lena.  “That's what it was to me at first.  A symbol of my solidarity, of my promise  _ never _ to follow Lex’s path…” 

Lena sipped her wine, Kara's face was decidedly less hostile.  “Since I met Supergirl, however… it's taken on a whole new meaning.”

She paused, this was one thing she'd never said aloud, never confirmed or hell, even privately acknowledged.  “Are you sure you want to hear this, Kara?”

Kara sighed, her gaze fixated on the balcony, “Lena, I need to hear it.”

 “Okay.”

She started slow, telling Kara about every interaction she'd had with the Girl of Steel, how Supergirl was the only person other than Kara, who believed in Lena.  There was a familiarity to Kara's expression that made Lena think that Kara had definitely heard one side of the stories.  She told Kara about the pain she felt having to lie to Supergirl during the Medusa incident.   The internally battle she fought as she watched Supergirl's faith in her diminish, as she turned the key.  

 “This symbol is what it is…  For some it's hope… but for me, now, it's my commitment to be better, to be the hero that she sees in me… that you see in me…”

 

Lena looked up finally.  She had been holding back tears as she spoke, the idea that Kara could be disappointed in her, weighing on her chest.  

Kara was still staring out toward the balcony, “El mayarah.”

 “I'm sorry?”

She turned back to Lena with a determined set to her jaw that seemed vaguely familiar.  “That symbol,  _ el mayarah, _ it means stronger together.”

Lena's breath caught in her throat at the ease with which Kara spoke.  The way her mouth wrapped around Kryptonese like she'd been born to do it.

 “That's beautiful, Kara.”

 “That's not all it is though,” Kara answered.  She finally made eye contact with Lena, the blue of her iris vivid with tears.  

Lena reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind Kara's ear, “Kara?”

 “You deserve the truth Lena.  After everything you've done… At first I was mad… angry even? I knew people had these tattoos but I never thought…”

The more Kara spoke, the more Lena started to piece together in her head.  All of a sudden, every little inconsistency that Lena had written off as a Kara Danvers quirk, made sense.  The running off, the occasional mismatched outfit or shoe… 

 “Are you sure, Kara?”

She nodded, her blonde hair falling back into her face, only to be swept back by Lena's fingers, “Take your time.”

 

She did.  It took five minutes of Kara fiddling with her glasses, and stuttering starts and stops before she strung together a sentence.   “ _ El mayarah _ isn't just a phrase on Krypton, it's the coat of arms for the House of El.  My family.”

The conformation struck Lena, leaving her winded, even though she'd already guessed the connection.  “My name is Kara Zor-El.”  Lena watched worry play across Kara's features, as though she was worried about Lena's reaction.  

 “Well, Kara Zor-El, thank you for everything you've done for me, and if my foolish choice of ink has offended you in anyway, I can have it removed.”

Surprisingly, Kara shook her head, leaning back on the couch, “If anything, what you've told me tonight makes you worthy of that symbol.”

Lena reached across and pulled Kara into a hug.  “Thank you Kara.”

Kara hugged her back, a little tighter than usual, and suddenly, Lena knew she owed Detective Sawyer big time.


End file.
